DURHAM'S double promotion bandwagon became a little more rickety yesterday as they lost their totesport League match at Taunton by five wickets.

They are still only two points off the top, but leaders Sussex's defeat at Grace Road allowed Leicestershire to draw level again with Durham. Warwickshire are two points behind with two games in hand.

For the second successive totesport match Durham sent in Gavin Hamilton to open with Mike Hussey and he spent half the innings making a tortured 22.

Considering that 688 runs had been scored in Somerset's match against Yorkshire on the same ground the previous week, such a sluggish start was hardly the launching pad Durham required for victory.

Despite a 55-ball half-century from Dale Benkenstein, Durham had to be content with a total of 222 for seven and Somerset knocked off the runs with 2.4 overs to spare.

The hosts reached 85 for none after 16 overs before Gareth Breese continued his love affair with Taunton by striking with his second and third balls.

But he held no fears for the audacious James Hildreth, who then dominated a stand of 50 in nine overs with Matthew Wood.

Otherwise Wood was the man in charge as he continued the imperious form which saw him score 297 in the championship clash with Yorkshire, followed by 129 in the totesport match.

He made 76 before falling lbw to Neil Killeen and at 140 for four after 28 overs Durham recalled their new Australian paceman Brad Williams.

In his opening spell Williams conceded only four runs off his first two overs, and there were only seven off Callum Thorp's first five.

But 17 came off Williams' next two before he was rested and the game looked beyond Durham by the time Wood's purple patch had taken a heavy toll of Liam Plunkett.

It was back in the balance, however, once Williams had dangerman Ian Blackwell caught by wicketkeeper Phil Mustard.

Killeen kept it tight, taking two for 14 in his last four overs, and Somerset needed 63 off 13 when he finished his stint. One more wicket might have induced panic, but they had the veteran Keith Parsons to supervise the task in an unbroken stand of 83 with young Wes Durston.

Switching from Riverside pitches, where the top totesport score of the team batting first in the last three matches has been 147, to the batsman's paradise of Taunton appeared to be something of a culture shock for Durham.

In last Tuesday's match against Leicestershire, his first senior appearance of the season, Hamilton out-scored his captain and was unlucky to be adjudged lbw for 16.

But impartial observers, and even his fellow Scots, for whom he has played six totesport matches this season, must wonder why Hamilton is suddenly opening the batting for Durham when they appear to be having such a successful season.

In the last two seasons Gary Pratt has scored 101 and 67 without being dismissed in the one-day matches at Taunton, but even after scoring a century for the second team last week he was unable to get into the side.

Hussey won the toss for the seventh time in eight games since returning from one-day international duty, but it was the tenth over before he hit the first boundary.

Durham managed only 31 runs off the first 12 overs, despite half of them being bowled by 18-year-old Rob Woodman, making his totesport debut in the absence of Andrew Caddick and Richard Johnson.

Hussey then pressed the accelerator and the total was doubled in the next four overs before the captain fell for 43, pulling a Parsons long hop to deep mid-wicket after hitting three fours and a six.

Hamilton hit his only four off Parsons in the 19th over, but four overs later he was bowled when attempting to cut occasional off-spinner Durston's second ball.

The 24-year-old all-rounder struck again in his second over, when he had Gordon Muchall caught at mid-wicket, bringing in Benkenstein at 96 for three in the 25th over.

He was off the mark with a four and set about Durston in the 31st over as he raced past Paul Collingwood after giving him eight overs start.

But after bowling nine overs of left-arm spin for 35 runs, home skipper Blackwell recalled South African Charl Langeveldt, who had opened up with five accurate overs.

He immediately had Collingwood caught at deep mid-wicket for 29 to end a stand of 48 in nine overs, ending a partnership which promised to propel Durham to a competitive total.

Somerset had the luxury of bringing on seamer Simon Francis, their seventh bowler, as late as the 35th over and he conceded only eight runs off his first three overs.

Mustard hit Woodman for six to reach 16 before clipping the next ball to short mid-wicket, then Breese dominated a stand of 43 in five overs.

He hit four fours in making 28 off 16 balls before driving a full toss to long-off with two overs left, then Thorp was yorked by Langeveldt, leaving Benkenstein on 60 not out.

It was his fourth half-century in the competition and took his average to 67.8, but with Hussey playing his last match at home to Scotland next Sunday Durham will have to look for a new opening partnership.

l Durham will take the same squad, plus Mark Davies, to Scarborough today for the Twenty20 friendly against Yorkshire, which starts at 4pm.